Friday, June 30, 2017

Book Review: Caraval

Imagine a world, a fantastical city which is entirely
created by the most infamous magician known as Legend. A city that is the star
of a 5-night game played by real life players and an audience. A game known as
Caraval which presents the unthinkable beyond the point of imagination. This
very game was the only motivation for a young girl named Scarlett. Scarlett had
only one dream: to experience Caraval and perhaps meet the legendary legend.
This is the only dream this young reserved girl had to keep her sanity. To keep
herself and her sister Tella alive from their abusive, manipulative father and
marriage opposite a count whom she has never met. But this one dream just
happened to come true but not the way she or her sister expected. A letter came
suddenly promising two Caraval performance tickets. Scarlett was intrigued and
amazed but at the same time heartbroken over the promise of her unwilling
marriage. Unable to decide between her love for her brave sister Tella and her
sister’s life. After many twists, turns and complications they both set out to
Caraval with the help of a young sailor named Julian. But by doing this
Scarlett feared the worst by her father who had done much worse than just
physical abuse to Tella at this point. The fear of losing her sister, love
coming too close too soon and the magical dismay of Caraval shapes the rest of
the plot. The book follows through with Scarlett’s journey as she ventures to
find her sister through tragedy.

This book is a mystery fantasy novel which follows the life
of a young girl who has lost a dear sister and is indulged within a fantastical
city. This book is definitely one of a kind and very entertaining.
Caraval kept me interested the entire time although it started off slow and
very dry. It felt as though I was really at Caraval. There are exceptional
descriptions of the setting and plot that keep you on your toes and ready for
the next event. I rated Caraval 4 out of 5 based on my interest as a mystery
lover. Personally I would recommend this book to anyone but specifically
someone who loves suspenseful mystery novels with a great sense of imagination.
Imagination is the key to enjoying this book at its best. Being an imaginative
person helped me understand and stay interested in the book the entire time.
Caraval will bring the childhood dream and aspirations out of you along with a
very imaginative personality. Definitely recommended to anyone interested in a
fantasy novel.